Tale of the Champion's Love
by kitax13
Summary: Varric's stories always revolve around Hawke's heroics, but just this once it'll revolve around her love. A drunken night at the Hanged Man is just what Varric needs to finally tell his favorite Hawk story. - Rated T for future. May change to M in the future. - romance/hurt/comfort/humor
1. Chapter 1

_SO! I started playing DA2 in anticipation for inquisition and I decided to write up some fluff. The first couple of chapters are gonna be pretty word for word with the game then I'm gonna go off book, but it won't change the game, just go more in depth. This is all about hawke/fenris. Sorry not sorry. _

_If you're new to my fics Id like to warn you. every chapter will be about 1000 words and I'll crank out between 5-10 before I get distracted and don't touch this fic for a long while. So. there ya go. You've been warned. _

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><p>The Hanged Man was full to the brim and louder than any pub had ever been in Kirkwall. Of course this was not a normal night in the city's dirties lowlife filled bar. Tonight was a special night, because the Champion of Kirkwall was gone on a mission and would not return this night. No one celebrated this fact and actually felt rather vulnerable without her there in case of a sudden war between Templars and mages (which they all knew was coming eventually). No. Everyone celebrated because this was the only time that Varric, the handsome dwarf with a silver tongue, was able to tell the truest and deepest stories that he had collected in their journeys together. Most would assume the words that this dwarf spun together were simple drivel with little base in truth, but the riffraff in the Hanged Man that night knew better. Varric was known as The Champion's best friend throughout this group of people. He was always with her on her travels and even on her night offs in the Lowtown pub. They joked and held similar views and if not for her obvious enthrallment with a certain elf in their party, most would have believed them lovers. Maybe they were in a way—always smiling and flirting, but baselessly and frivolously.<p>

The night had begun rather slowly, with the Dwarf and every one of the Champion's party that wasn't with her at the time, gathered around the large fireplace in the center of the hall. Aveline and her husband sipped quietly on their steins while Merrill sat wide eyed, staring at her friend Varric as he wove stories together as if he was weaving straw into gold. Sebastian scoffed along as he drank another glass of tea in the corner. Isabella laughed at every embellishment that was flung her way. The amount of empty cups in front of her spoke to her drunken state.

All of them had heard these stories before and knew most the truths by now, but still loved to hear the newest and most outlandish addition. The bar staff was rather busy, rushing around to the occupied tables but with every loud laugh or comment from the party their eyes would flitter over to the group and wonder about the story being told then. The patrons of the pub were no different from the staff, if not for their ability to chime in. Varric was a novel in to the life of the Champion and the group surrounding him was growing steadily to the size that he rather preferred.

Varric wasn't the usual dwarf that you would run into in Orzammar or even walking around in Kirkwall. Anyone who listened to him for a minute could realize that. Maybe that was what made his stories so much more. The most story like thing any dwarf was likely to spill out was about their lineage and their connection to the paragons of the past. That, unfortunately to some, was the only story he refused to tell. Varric was of course a surface dwarf, which meant that his family was kicked out from the tunnels that ran bellow every inch of earth in the world. There were rumors that his family was directly descended from a tragic paragon's line but, with no evidence to back it up, the rumor stayed just that—a rumor. Of course, he wasn't unwilling to speak of his bravery and strength in battle, so it's not as if he was the only party member in a secretive place. He was, in fact just finishing up a story where he dealt the killing blow to a high dragon on Sundermount when the bartender yelled out last call. The bar would be closing and those who simply came for the drink, on the Champion's tab of course would filter out soon enough. Then, Varric mused, he would be able to tell a new story to those who were only there for words.

He told no lies in that statement. As the outer fringes of patrons gathered up their last drinks and Isabella told a few dirty jokes, to Sebastian's horror, the bar closed down. The last drink of the night never seems to last long enough and the group surrounding the party lessened severely, only slightly replaced by the wait staff that was itching for Varric's new tale while they poured drink after drink. The bartender tipped his hat to Varric and headed upstairs for the night. He was not specifically amused by Varric's words but was civil nonetheless, being the dwarf's next door neighbor in the suits upstairs. At the bartender's departure, he gave Merrill, whom he called Daisy, the sign to grab a few bottles from the stock under the bar. They would run a tab. The owner would find it in the morning with a generous tip. The world would go on.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Humans and Elves," Varric gestured grandly around him. "Please, for tonight's generous benefactor and inspiration for a large portion of my stories, give the Champion of Kirkwall, Elizabeth Hawke, my friend a round of applause. The crowd clapped but no one more than Varric himself.

"And Please, for tonight's wonderful Hanged Man wait staff and my lovely Daisy, another round of that glorious sound." A few people laughed but those that thoroughly were enjoying themselves clapped whole heartedly and once again, no one more than the beardless dwarf in the center of the crowd.

"Is everyone comfortable?" Varric smiled around at his companions. Nods and smiles were had around as the first bottle found its way back to the front with only a sip or two left in it. Varric grabbed it up and tipped the remaining amber liquid into his gullet before continuing. "This is a new one as you all know, but it's also new in the sense of topic. Lizzie Hawke is of course the main character of our tale, but today will be my first time expressing a Hawke with no embellishments." The small crowd hung onto every word of his as he slowly explained his newest work. "This story isn't about her rise to status, or her expansion into darker magic's. This story is much sweeter and much more painful than any wound she could sustain from her work." He grabbed the next bottle and broke the seal with a satisfying _crack _before looking up at the crowd with what looked like a smug look. He felt a little proud in fact, as well as mischievous as he poured himself a glass.

"Let us begin with the time right after the quest that I have affectionately named Bait and Switch." He took a swig from his glass and gave a smirk, "for our very first: _Tale of the Champion's love_."

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><p><em>I hope you liked it. I'm working on ch3 right now but I won't be uploading the second for a little while. <em>


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's chapter 2. I'm having my "editor in training" friend look through these so they'll be alot more on point. Seriously she is wonderful. But that also means that it'll take more time in between chapters. I think it'll be worth the trade off, since my grammar and spelling is terrible. _

_I hope you like how this story is put together. It switches back and forth between first person and third person omniscient. (between Varric and myself) hopefully I got his tone correct on his parts. Anyway- enjoy._

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><p>Now I've never really told this story before, because the Elf is always so touchy about it. Character introductions have always been one of my favorite kinds of stories so I'm glad to finally get to tell it. In <em>Bait and Switch, <em>we first meet the dark brooding Elf Fenris. Lyrium infused and mage hating, he tricked our then humble group into a situation that, if we were led by any other woman in the world, would have killed us. I know and you know that this annoying fella had his own reasons for this, but now she was not happy.

"Empty" she grumbled as we left the alienage apartment, "You know I'm all for a practical joke, but I better get paid extra for my near death experience," She mused stashing her staff. I couldn't help but laugh as she put on her mock hurt expression. I swear this woman couldn't be serious for one second.

"If that's a near death experience for you, Hawke, I think I might have to reconsider who I want to be my partner in this expedition." I threw a witty remark at her. She didn't say anything back but just threw a grin over her shoulder at me_. Now, I'm going to clarify. I don't like Human women. They're too skinny and tall for my tastes, but in the moments where she just smiles, I swear I love her in a way. You know what I mean. I see you nodding Daisy. Oh stop blushing it's okay. We all feel that sometimes when it comes to Hawke. Now if Hawke ever felt that way about any of us I don't know_. At least not until that night.

I honestly wasn't sure if I had enough bolts left when that mercenary appeared at the top of those steps and ordered all of his men into the clearing. Of course, we would have scraped by no matter how many men he had, but that doesn't make me any less grateful that the elf appeared when he did. Following the limping dying mercenary calling for his captain, he punched his fist straight through the mercenary leader's heart with a terrible squelch and a scream from the now empty cavity. The mercenary fell and I mostly remember the sound of his head hitting the pavement and the sight of his blood spilling down the stairs. Hawke once told me that all she remembered was how terrified she was. No one thinks of her ever being scared, but the more you know her the more human she becomes in your eyes. She told me that her heart felt like it was the one that was ripped out of her chest but when I looked up to her, her face was still frozen in that grin from the moment before.

"I am not a slave," he almost growled. With one of the fiercest looks, I'd ever seen on his face, he turned and assessed the group in front of him while slowly walking down the steps into the alienage. Then his face changed. He didn't look like a wild dog anymore—only a tired man.

"I apologize," he huffed out and made eye contact with Hawke who had visibly relaxed at the same moment that he had. Now she stared him down with question in her eye and a much more natural tilt to her lips. He walked past us and we couldn't do much more than follow him with our eyes. "When I asked Anso to provide a distraction for the hunters, I had no idea they'd be so numerous." Hawke let out a scoff and all I could do was stare as they danced around each other.

"Those guys? We've handled worse." She crossed her arms and leaned to the side before visibly sizing up the elf in front of her.

"Impressive" he remarked before introducing himself and a backstory that I could never have made up. He didn't go into a lot of detail but it was just enough to hook Hawke into helping. She usually isn't modest about asking for money but as soon as he mentioned slavers her jaw clenched under her grin.

"If you (do you mean they?) were truly trying to recapture you, I'm glad I helped." She said rather gruffly though that didn't seem to matter to Fenris, who was more impressed by her selflessness. Ha. If he only knew then. Everyone was quiet for a minute before Fenris continued.

"The box, can I ask what was in it?" he looked down as if he was scared of what the answer might be. His facial expression didn't change but as Hawke informed him that the box was empty, he seemed to pale and the lyrium markings in his skin burned a little brighter. "I guess it was too much to hope for," he sighed before Hawke remembered her annoyance at having been tricked.

"You didn't need to lie to get my help," she pointed out to the elf who simply brushed it aside as if it was nothing. He seemed more put off by the empty chest than she had thought but it was too late to ask when he started to rummage through the dead mercenary's pockets. His former master was here in Hightown and he wanted our help. He spit the word master out with what I could only imagine was a terrifying remembrance and hatred.

"If it means fighting more slavers, I'll help you," she said. Therefore, we joined him rather quickly after he went off towards Hightown. The amount of blood drawn that night was less than we've ever spilled on a mission before but that was simply because of the sheer amount of demons and shades in that Hightown mansion. Mages always left a funny taste in my mouth personally, probably because of my people's ineptitude in the area. If not for mages like Hawke, I would be very much anti magic after that night. Unfortunately, our new friend didn't seem to know many mages like Hawke and found himself rather hateful in that area.

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><p><em>I hope you like how its going so far. There will be flirting. Don't worry. Also, like I said before, the first couple chapters are word for word from the game but I'll soon throw in some conjecture. MMMM I love conjecture. <em>


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's chapter 3 everyone. I seem to be on about a week basis but don't get too comfortable with that. My upload rate depends on my writing and editing rate. I'm not putting a rush on my editing friend since they're doing me such a wonderful favor and I'm a slow writer. Eventually this will slow down on the uploads and basically become nonexistent in my mind. Lets try and finish this before then, okay? Ready, set, go!_

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><p>"That kid sure is rough around the edges but at least he's paying us," I muttered, as I rummaged through the third chest in Denarius' bedroom. It makes sense that we only had a few things that we could sell, being that the old magister was only in town for a short while and even then, he wasn't the one to come after the elf. Maybe we could fund a tenth of the cost for the expedition with what we found but it's more likely that this money would go to some other expenses needed in the Hawke household.<p>

"I find him rather interesting," Hawke smirked, holding up a large set of robes against her frame as if she might actually keep them. She looked into the mirror ahead of her but her gaze was off. She was looking at the door.

"I find it interesting that you find him interesting," I picked up a small ruined ring from the bottom of the chest before standing and throwing it to Red. The guard rolled her eyes but examined the ring anyway, from her leaning position by the door. "Seeing as he's had such bad experiences with mages, he probably doesn't want anything to do with us."

"You mean me," Hawke retorted, finally looking away from the door and to the floor. She let her gaze linger for not half a minute before dropping the robe into her backpack. She probably thought at that point that I couldn't see it, but her grin faltered for half a second before she turned around and headed toward the door.

"I've got what I need," she slid through the half open door without even touching the oak.

"Thank the Maker," Aveline remarked before tossing the ring back at me. _Psh. as if she wasn't considering taking it_. I had to make one last look around before hurrying after them. _I mean we didn't even look through the whole mansion yet. We probably missed a lot of good drink down in the cellar but I wasn't gonna stick around and wait in that empty mansion when Hawke was about to start a completely new story of her own._

By the time, I caught up with the ladies they were already to the foyer and Hawke was not slowing down. At this point, I don't think either one of us knew why she was so captivated by the elf. Of course, he was rather mysterious but her intrigue stretched farther than anyone else's would have.

"It never ends," the elf affirmed through a sort of growl as soon as we walked through the door. It was as if he was thinking this whole time about what to say and it just became angrier and angrier as he stewed. "I escaped a land of dark magic only to have it hunt me at every turn," he continued still not looking toward us. Nonetheless, none of us moved or said anything. "It is a plague burned into my flesh and soul. And now I find myself in the company of even more mages." As he said this, he turned his head to make eye contact with Hawke who seemed to be frozen into place. Aveline tensed in the open air as if she was a cat that could feel a storm brewing.

"I saw you casting spells inside," he spit out. "I should have realized sooner what you were." Hawk's jaw clenched again but this time there was no grin to conceal it. "Tell me then—what manner of mage are you? What is it that you seek?" he asked to my surprise. She held her tongue, which was new for her. Usually she would have been quick with a witty remark but she took her time and thought. She never took her golden eyes off him as she did.

"I'm just trying to get by," she said with less gusto than anyone would have expected. Fenris' eyes never faltered either but he did hesitate before he responded.

"Yet I have seen many crimes done in the name of survival." His words grated on my last nerve and I opened my mouth to speak before he continued "I imagine I appear ungrateful,"

He surprised me into silence; apparently he did the same to the rest of our party. "If so, I apologize, for nothing could be further than the truth." His stare twitched finally, by only a fraction; down to take in the rest of her face before returning to her eyes. "I did not find Denarius, but I still owe you a debt." He pulled a small pouch from his belt and threw it my way. "Here is all the coin I have, as Anso promised. Should you find yourself in need of assistance, I would gladly render it." That was it; just what Hawke needed for her grin to find her again, though this grin was different.

"You didn't seem all that thrilled with me a moment ago," Hawke threw at the elf with a confident voice. She crossed her arms and fell into her usual sauntered stance. He scowled in return but answered nonetheless.

"You are not Denarius. Whether you are anything like him remains to be seen." Fenris may have given a scowl but Hawke's smile grew even wider as if she took it like a compliment.

"Your—"she hesitated to call Denarius his master, "He must want something more than just a runaway slave," she pointed out. Her approach was direct but diplomatic, but in my opinion, nothing sounded diplomatic coming from that grin.

"He doesn't want me at all," Fenris breathed—almost a laugh, "Just the markings on my skin. They are pure lyrium burned into my flesh to provide the power that Denarius required of his _pet_." He spit out the word as if it was gristle in his mouth. "And now he wishes precious investment returned, even if he must rip it from my corpse." It was such a serious moment but Hawke was never one for serious. She let out a chuckle and leaned towards the elf, closing the gap between them if only for a moment. This was when I finally noticed what was putting her on the fence about this mage hater.

"Seems like a waste of a perfectly handsome elf," she mused with a smile that said she knew exactly what she was getting into. The Elf didn't say anything but just let out a small choking laugh of sorts and looked off to the side. He looked down the street to anything to take his attention away. That is when I realized that she might not have as hard a time as I thought. She saw it too and let out another small chuckle—enough to catch his attention again.

"I'm planning an expedition that I might need help with," she offered as a final response to his offer. He waited but nodded eventually.

"Fair enough," he answered before taking a few steps past us and back towards the mansion. "If you have need of me I will be here. If Denarius wishes his mansion back, he is free to return and claim it. Beyond that, I am at your disposal." With that, he turned his back completely to us and entered the mansion without another word. Hawke watched him leave and stared grinning at the door for some time after.

"Watch yourself with that one, Hawke." I warned her, half unsure if I had read the situation correctly. Apparently I did.

"What? Are you jealous Tethrous?" She shot me a smile and I shook my head with a laugh.

"Immensely. Now let's go see what we can get for this loot in Low Town."

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><p><em>Sooooo? Whatcha thinkin? Send me a messagereview and tell me how I'm doing with the different relationships, platonic and not so platonic if ya know what I mean. Thank you so much to everyone who is continuing on in this story. I hope I don't let you down. Thanks for the follows/faves. I really appreciate it. Your feedback keeps me going._


	4. Chapter 4

_Here's chapter 4 everyone! More tavern talk 3 My favorite! Yay character liberties! Hope you like how the storys going. I've been sick so that's why it took so long, but I'll try to make up for it with longer chapters. ENJOY._

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><p>"These parts aren't as fun when I was there to see it first hand," Aveline interrupted. She leaned back against her husband's shoulder and let her head rest against his. The group took the pause as an intermission and Varric took a long awaited sip of his drink. "Though I do admit," she continued, "Most of the subtext between the two of them was lost on me." Donnic let out an all too knowing laugh and received a loving smack in return.<p>

"You only missed most of it?" Her husband questioned, unfazed by the little show of domestic violence. "I'd be surprised if you caught any of it!" The group, who had not gotten up to use the restroom or stretch their legs, chuckled along with the conversation. Aveline landed another smack on her lover's leg but smiled at him nonetheless with her pink cheeks glowing.

"Alright so I didn't notice anything," she admitted before setting a small childish glare to Varric. "But I did not even consider looting that mansion. No matter how pretty that ring was." Merrill let out an adorable giggle and pulled her knees up to her chest. She loved it personally when Aveline came out to drink with them. She was refreshing and rather cute when she was knackered.

"Sure you didn't, Red," Varric smiled up at her from his comfortable high-backed chair that was closest to the fire, "But that's another story for another time. One including that shield you're using right now. Where do you think Hawke got that anyway?" Aveline jumped a little and made a motion as if she was trying to look at the back of her head. The group let out another chuckle, this time more audible as the group had grown back to almost the full size of before.

"Oh, Hawke, we are going to have a talk when you get back," she said as if it was supposed to be a threat, but she was far too tired and had had far too much to drink. It sounded more like a whine.

"Varric, you said that all of this was true, but most of what you said was just assumption of what those two were thinking." Merrill stated like a question. She smiled sweetly to the dwarf and he laughed a little in reply.

"Daisy—Sweetheart, If you were there and felt the walls dripping with tension like I felt, you'd understand." He replied sweetly. He knew she only meant an honest curiosity by her question. Anything else was not in her nature. "You're right, a lot of what I'll be saying tonight is going to be conjecture, but can you really call it that when it's so obvious?"

"Now that I noticed," Aveline threw in with a rare smile. Donnic patted her on the back before wrapping his arm around her waist. "The dripping I mean…the dripping of the tension," she tried to clarify through her alcohol haze. She was rather a light drinker though she would never admit it. Either that or she snuck more drinks than anyone ever saw her take. The room was clamorous again as the group began completely again, but broke off into smaller conversations. You could barely hear the snoring that sawed through the stairwell from one of the upstairs rooms. Luckily, tonight no one seemed to have brought any company to their bed or it might have been rather hard to pay attention to Varric, no matter how magnetic his voice was to the ears.

"I always wondered how Hawke could fall for such a person as Fenris," Sebastian piped up from the corner of the group. He sat closer to the fire but farther from the center of the group. He poured himself another glass of water and threw a question into the conversation that everyone was thinking. "I mean he is so fervently against mages and yet—"he left the sentence open ended and the inner group understood what he meant. _Yet she stays. Yet she puts up with it. Yet she hasn't murdered the blighted fool. _Nevertheless, they all rather had an inkling that Varric confirmed. Because despite Elizabeth Hawke being a kick-ass, snarky, gold driven mage—

"She's an angel," Varric confirmed, "Haven't you met her?" Sebastian opened his mouth to say something about that being heresy but quickly decided to not continue and just join the group in nodding. "She sees the very best in every one of us. When you think about it like that, it's easier to see how." They all understood that at least, but wondered secretly if their own shortcomings were as bad as each other's. Being a blood mage. A revenge driven, oaf. A prickly, short-tempered southerner. A pirate with past and present so dirty it would never wash out. They all had their problems and that's what made loving Hawke so easy. Not only did she put up with all of their shortcomings; she understood.

"Hawke was there for me when no one else was," Merrill drawled out quietly, thinking back to her clan's abandonment. The group equally thought back to their own pasts and the saint's work that their leader had done for them.

"I never thought I'd love again after—after his death," Aveline added, before looking to Donnic with the sweetest smile she would ever smile. "But she was there for me then and now."

"I owe that to Hawke as well," her husband continued off her words, "Without her I'd never have met the love of my life." Their atmosphere was thick and gross with love but no one seemed to mind, as they all were immersed in their own problems.

"She's done so much for me—for someone I didn't think she even considered a friend," Isabella said through the glass that she held hovering at her lips. She leaned forward over the back of the chair holding her hands and her glass at the ready. "She killed the bloody Arishok for me," she said as if she still didn't believe it was truth. After all that, she had done and all the trouble she had gotten everyone into. Everyone was quiet. They all knew what Isabella had done and what it had meant for their entire group. There was still an awkward cloud hanging over their heads.

"Oh shut up, Whore." Aveline slurred quietly before pressing a smile in Isabella's direction. She smiled back and leaned into the wood of the chair.

"Bitch," she muttered back as an endearment. The two never admitted it but they were one of the closer pairs in the party.

"How sweet," Merrill chimed, "Varric, why do you call me Daisy when they have such fun names for each other?" Varric shook his head with one of his loudest laughs of the night. His Daisy never failed to amuse him.

"Well Daisy, their names suit them. So does yours," he replied before settling back into his chair again. The room had gone quiet once more and eyes beckoned him to continue.

"Alright folks, the rest is what I got directly from Hawke and even more surprisingly from the elf himself. Notice I couldn't have been there for a lot of this. Therefore, I filled in the cracks with what I can guess from their personalities. You get the gist. Let us continue with the Tale of the Champion's Love."

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><p><em>I REALLY Hope you liked it! I'm working on more as we speak but please be understanding- I got inquisition for Christmas so I'm totally distracted! Thanks for the continued support and understanding! Send me some commentsquestions/concerns!_


	5. Chapter 5

_This is another shorter chapter, sorry guys, but I'm going to Italy soon and getting everything settled is really nerve wracking. But I'll be in a car for 6 hours tomorrow so maybe I can get some writing in. Pretty soon we'll be accelerating in strange hills and valleys. My lovely editor in training didn't say anything about the flow but its still bothers me. If later on you notice that, let me know. I feel like maybe I should even work on the intro to just this chapter. We'll see._

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><p>From that day forward, if we weren't out on a mission or quest, Hawke paid Fenris a visit. She spent most of her free time there in fact. Well, I say "when we didn't have a mission" but that's just a way of saying "when Hawke was sick and tired of doing people's work for them". I made many realizations throughout the progression of their relationship but one of my biggest was that Hawke didn't push herself and fill up her day for her wellbeing. She did it for the gold obviously, but more than that. This expedition meant much more for her family than anything else. This new distraction of sorts was the first thing I had seen her do for only herself and since we're completely submerged in the setting, It was that first night in particular that catches my attention. We all headed to the hangman. Of course when I say "all" I mean everyone but the elf.<p>

"Can I please get your cheapest bottle of whatever will get me drunk fast? For the road please?" Hawke ordered as soon as the group was settled in. The waitress took down the order but stood staring at Hawke with the sappiest smile I'd ever seen. She wasn't such a big baddie back in the day; she was only a Fereldon that slipped through the cracks of the docks. That doesn't mean she didn't still have the alluring quality that she has today. Hawke sent a grin back at the waitress and her face drained of all color before running back behind the bar. Hawke let out a small laugh but I knew she would have been up for anything if she didn't already have plans brewing in that head of hers.

"Cheap?" Red asked out of personal interest. She didn't know that this bottle was not meant for her.

"Drunk? Fast?" I followed her lead with mock innocence. Elizabeth rolled her eyes my way before checking her own coin purse for spare change. She pulled out her estimation of what it would cost and settled her purse back on her belt before standing and walking to the bar.

"It's been fun. Really, but I have a house warming party to go to," she explained grandly. Her words were saturated in sarcasm as she turned on her heel and dropped the coins on the varnished wood of the bar. The waitress's red face popped up from behind the structure for a moment before dropping back again. A passed out patron smelled silver and lifted their eyes for a mere moment before falling prey to their drink again.

"Take your time Sweetheart," Hawke crooned slowly, not against watching the pretty elf hurry around in front of her. "You're hair looks fabulous tonight, by the way," she threw in off handedly, I swear, just to hear the small squeak of the waitress again before she popped up one last time with what she thought to be the best choice for Hawke's request. Elizabeth gave her a grin before pushing the coins towards the girl.

"Whatever's left, you keep. You need it more than me." She grabbed the bottle and stashed it in her back before throwing a look back at us. "Have fun tonight. Don't wait up" and with those words and a wink she was gone. That left Aveline, Carver, and I all alone for drinks, _but that again is another story. You're here to hear about love. Don't worry. I've got just what you're looking for._

It took Hawke less time than it normally would to walk from Lowtown to Hightown and even less to take care of the scum that roamed those streets at night. The amount of gangs with stupid names in Kirkwall that decided that their turf was the next guys turf was starting to become ridiculous but it was nothing Hawke couldn't handle alone. The part that took the surprisingly long amount of time was how long she waited outside the door before even knocking. She had gotten the drink and she had gotten herself back to the abandoned mansion but she found herself utterly jumpy when it came down to the deed. _Maybe I can surprise him. _She thought before thinking better of that idea. If she were going to surprise him, she'd probably end up getting a fist through her heart. She rather liked her chest and decided not to risk it.

Her knock was quiet at first before she realized that he probably couldn't hear the slight tapping throughout that giant house. She adjusted with a louder knock but still waited for nothing. Unsure if he was ignoring her or if he just didn't hear, she cracked the door open and pushed it wide before letting out a smaller than intended "Hello?" Even that tiny word echoed slightly through the entry hall and out into the main foyer. It wasn't needed, it seems, and she became aware of a slight glow coming from her left and maybe something else that pulled her. She closed the door behind her and made her way slowly into the hallway that branched off into three different rooms.

"Fenris?" she called again, a little louder this time, following the glowing that grew in her own stomach as well as before her eyes. The small light pushed out from the first room in the hall, a library, and its source was obvious as soon as she set foot in the room.

"Fenris?" she let out as a whisper. He was draped over a pile of opened books on the only desk in the room like the scene of a romantic portrait. His lyrium tattoos glowed under his skin and pulsed with every breath and as Hawke snuck forward, she found herself next to the elf as he slept. He was, in that moment and for the first time in her eyes and maybe to anyone, beautiful.

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><p><em>Hope you're liking where this is going. Like I said, I'll be writing tomorrow and maybe I can actually get some good solid work done. Also I might come back and edit this chapter or at least the opening of this chapter. I'm about ready to run out of edited chapters so I'll be sending a few unedited to my beautiful friend 3 Let me know how I'm doing? I take comments questions and concerns but I want to also point out how grateful I am to the followers and favoriters of this story. THANK YOU ALL!<em>


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey its been a while but I've been in transit between cities recently. I'm in Florence, Italy! HOLY CRAP, RIGHT? Studying abroad for the semester. omg. I'll have more time to write but less time to upload because of horrible internet connection in this apartment (still grateful it even has wifi). Anyway- hope you like where this is going. I just sent another 3-4 chapters to my lovely editor friend (praise the lord for the gift of this friend) and I'll have another up when I get to a worthy cafe. enjoy ;)_

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><p>It had taken him as soon as he found himself alone. He had rarely ever been in a place that he considered his own or even relatively safe. The result was a deep calm sleep that came over him as he sat and looked at the random squiggles on the pages before him. Tevinter slaves, I hear, were not ever taught to read, in the effort to keep them docile. This obviously didn't work too well on our boy Fenris. He was rather jumpy to begin with. That's why I believe Hawke was so enraptured with the elf. She found him sleeping there in such peace and wondered what kind of person he was. What kind of soul he had. Hawke told me once that when she found him she was rather frozen in place, as if someone had cast a spell on her. She was always one for romantics.<p>

Her feet were paved to the ground as she stood by the elf that didn't seem to notice the sudden company. He didn't smile in his sleep, she told me, or frown, or drool, or snore. His face is the most relaxed she said she ever sees it when he's asleep. She also said that she squatted down and sat there for a few minutes just watching him before she took the rather large risk of brushing his hair out of his face. She didn't get far with that move when, all in one movement, his hand grasped her wrist, he stood and pushed her all the way back against the opposite wall of the room. Books rattled and tumbled out of the shelf, down on top of them. With his free hand, he pushed her shoulder up against the hard stone shelves as he let out a short growl.

"What are you doing, Mage?" he grumbled loudly as he looked up through his silver hair. The look of shock on her face wasn't something you could hide as she tried to pull free from his grasp. Stronger than he looked, he pushed harder against her shoulder until she let out a sharp gasp. "Tell me what you are doing before I break you here and now," he tightened the grip on her wrist and she finally settled her face. She clamped her jaw shut to keep from letting out another gasp and set her eyes on his. The unsettling green of his irises was potent in the plea to not end his life there and then. She forced a grin upon her lips and leaned her head to the side.

"You just looked so cute sleeping," she exalted looking him up and down, making a conscious effort not to focus too much on the stunning blue lines that now flared highly against his skin. "And your hair looked really soft," she admitted with a little less amusement than she liked. She felt his hand around her wrist lighten a little but not release and her smile reflected the strange emotions swirling inside her at that moment. "But I'm definitely not against your rough side either," she purred, reaching a hand up to finally push his hair from his face. His hands were preoccupied so as she moved all he could do was watch and be confused as her gentle fingers grazed his skin. His demeanor seemed to break a small amount as he stared back into her golden eyes before he set another grimace on his face.

"I am not in the mood for jokes," he sighed, dropping his hands away from her, leaving her rather off balance. "What did you want?" he asked with more respect than she expected as his feet took him a few paces back to the desk. His fingers trailed over the words on the top book before they contracted ever so slightly and he closed the book. He turned back to her as she finally let her arm drop back to her side and she rolled her shoulder until it popped.

"Well I did come to give you a house warming gift," she said rejoining him near the table and lifted the bottle out from behind her. As he looked, toward the gift, her eyes took him in again—his irises, his lyrium lines, and his general form. "But I wasn't joking before," she said as seriously as she could muster. He didn't reply right away but she didn't give him time anyway.

"Beauty and the Beast," she said quietly reaching for the tome in front of her. A large detailed retelling, no doubt. A single rose engraved into the cover told her what she knew it to be. "I loved hearing this story when I was a little girl, though I never truly believed the prince to be a beast. He was still beautiful even through his talons and teeth." She ran her hand over the rose and wondered what the written word had more than the spoken. She looked up to see his eyes locked on the book, or her hand, she was never sure.

"Do you know the tale?" she asked, pushing the book towards him. He hesitated and took the book from her grasp. He turned the book over in his hands and felt every detail of the engraving. He smiled for a moment and she wasn't sure if she saw it or not.

"I know the story by heart," he began, "One of many actually. I have a rather good memory." He looked back up to her and her eyes and grin were sparkling.

"By heart? I don't believe it." She was ecstatic. To hear the story that her father once told her would have been a gift worth all the gold she had.

"Would you like to hear it?" he asked, surprising himself a little. He placed the book back on the pile before him and turned back to see the glint in her eyes was still there. Her smile was replaced by a rather mischievous one, and he wasn't sure if he still wanted to show off one of his skills anymore.

"I would listen to you if you were simply reading an address book," she pushed the hair out of his face again and threw a smile in his direction before walking past him with the bottle in her hand. She threw a look over her shoulder before continuing out the door

"There was a fireplace upstairs right? I'll go light it." Then she was gone, leaving Fenris alone in the library again. This time his mind was on something that he could do instead of something that he couldn't.

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><p><em>So I'm not sure if this is going in the right direction or if it is, is it going to fast? Please give me some feedback PLEASE! I'll need some soon or else this story will die a quick painful death. Thanks so much to those who have helped with feedback and to those who have spurned me to keep writing. Thank you so much 3<em>


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay! we're finally getting to the good stuff. Yiss I am so excited about this. Here we go-_

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><p>By the time Fenris made his way upstairs and into, the room the fire was lit, which only confused Fenris for a second before he remembered that he was in the company of someone who could start a fire with her eyes. He glared across the room at the fire and wondered if being near it would somehow endanger him, but when he followed the fire's glow to the mage waiting happily on the brick ground, his eyes softened ever so slightly. This mage had done nothing but help him so far, but the far cry of a desperate mage was always at the back of his mind. He did not know when she would turn on him—only that she would.<p>

"You know you could sit on the furniture," he said in a tone that he wasn't even sure about. His glare still held and that's all that mattered to him as she looked up at him with a smile that he hadn't seen before. The fire cast her in a warm light and her eyes flickered subtly as she just stared back at him.

"I wanted to know where you were going to sit before I got comfortable," she smiled turning her eyes toward the fire. Her long dark hair fell in front of her face as she did so and suddenly Fenris felt like he could move again. "But I rather like it down here. I get cold easily." He took the seat at the high-backed chair and watched her as she watched the fire. He had no qualms with this mage so far and yet whenever she spoke a fire of a different kind seemed to be starting in his stomach. She was so infuriating to him.

"Maybe it's better if you leave after all," he grumbled, still watching her. She didn't move and he couldn't see her still because of the wall of dark strands over her face. Why was she so quiet? Why had she not shown herself as the evil sorceress that he knew her to be? The fire cracked loudly and the logs shifted in the cinders. He looked away.

"Is that what you want?" she asked finally; her voice was indistinguishable and for some reason he couldn't make himself answer. Of course he wanted her to leave. Mages bring nothing more than pain and suffering into a life. So why, no matter how he told himself this, was he unable to say the words? Magic had ruined his life, and if he let her stay wouldn't it continue to do the same? That was when she said something he didn't expect from a mage or even another person.

"Are you okay?" his eyes snapped up to where they were before and she was looking at him. She pulled her curtain of hair behind her ear and watched him. Her face was void of any kind of smile and there was something in her eyes that he had never received from anyone. Concern. Then the fire was returning. How dare this mage feel concern for him when her people had done nothing good for him in the past?

"I do not want your concern, Mage." He spit out as the flame in his gut demanded. His eyes burned into her still calm face as he screamed at himself in his head. She did not move, nor scream, nor send a fireball hurling towards his face. She just kept on looking at him with those eyes that now shined bright as polished jewelry.

"Say something you infuriating—" His temper flared and died in the same fleeting moments and her stare held true as she slapped her hand straight across his face. He felt like a child as soon as his face turned from the force. Was it magic? Had she bewitched him? He felt the sting on his cheek but he felt so much more than that. "Why is it that I feel as if I should be the one apologizing?" his voice released in such a weak tone that he wasn't even sure whether he had said it or thought it.

"Because you should be," she spoke after so long. He felt himself sink into the floor at her words and the night's events cycled through his head. "I can't imagine what you've been through, but don't for a moment think that you know what I've been through," she said with more poison he had imagine that she could spit. The haunting calm in her features was enough to make a magister turn on their heels.

"As I see it, you have a choice," she pushed herself off the ground and dusted the little bit of ash off her robes that had accumulated, before closing the distance between Fenris and herself, "You can either continue to be a dick to me for no reason and we can continue our relationship as so, or you can sit yourself down and tell me that story." She said this as she got into his personal space and he felt compelled to take a seat. But wouldn't that mean that she had won?

"What's it gonna be?" she asked with the same tone as before. She stood eyelevel with him, which almost seemed to make the situation worse. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. He had known this mage all of half a day and yet she commanded this much power over him? Surely it must have been magic then that made him slowly take his seat again before the woman in front of him.

"Wonderful," she let out with a sigh before falling into a crouching position before him, "I can't tell you how much that means to me," her smile was back, that strange ecstatic one, and as she looked up into his eyes he did not feel a fire but a pit developing in his stomach.

"I should apologize. You have done nothing wrong, yet." He spoke after she had found herself settled on the couch next to his chair. She was lounging there as if nothing had happened and yet he knew that he had done something undeserved to her. "I can offer no excuse that would suffice," he continued as she looked up at him through a chunk of hair that fell into her face.

"No need," she returned with another one of those strange sweet smiles. "I know that you have your demons just as much as the next person. Figure of speech you understand," Fenris tensed at the mention of demons from the mages mouth but nodded nonetheless. "Besides that, I told you before I like your rough side as well,"

"I'd like to tell that story now, if you don't mind. I find that theatrics is something I find soothing," he said with what Hawke could only assume was a smile—for it had only appeared for a fraction of a second.

"A strange but not unwelcome turn of events" she commented through a laugh that was deep and rich like chocolate. "Please, go on."

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><p><em>So how did we like it? I was really bordering on having her not slap him but we all know that Hawke isn't weak, no matter how you play her. Hopefully it feels a little more like the characters after getting some alone time with them. Am I writing Fenris okay?<em>

_Once again I'd like to thank you for the patience if you're still reading this through or if you've facorited or followed this so far. I'm in Firenze, Italia for the semester and won't have a whole lot of time to write. You guys are the biggest help with reviews and letting me know that you guys are reading. Thank you. THank you. Thank you. _


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